ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Insecticidal and Antimicrobial Effect of
Entomopathogenic Fungi in Stored Wheat
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1
Department of Entomology, Veer Kunwar Singh College of Agriculture, Dumraon, Buxar
Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, 813210, India
2
Vice Chancellor, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar, 848125, India
3
Department of Processing and Food Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar, 848125, India
4
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
5
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
6
Department of Biology, Turabah University College, Taif University, 21995, Saudi Arabia
7
Department of Biology, Al-Jumum University College, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
8
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Submission date: 2024-06-06
Final revision date: 2024-08-14
Acceptance date: 2024-08-28
Online publication date: 2024-10-30
Corresponding author
Rajeev Ranjan Thakur
Department of Processing and Food Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar, 848125, India
Rokayya Sami
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
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ABSTRACT
In developing countries, the loss of food grain is about 10–20% of their total yield due to poor storage
infrastructure. During storage under such unproductive storage conditions, approximately 600 species
of insects deteriorate the stored grains, and 100 of those species cause financial damage to the grains.
In addition to directly causing weight loss through feeding damage, insects also drastically reduce
nutrients, lower the proportion of seeds that germinate, lower the grade, and decrease the market value
of the crop as a result of waste accumulation, webbing, and insect dead bodies. The use of antiquated
and conventional chemical fumigants to control stored grain insect pests has been a prevalent practice
for a long time, which results in environmental contamination, residual toxicity, and resurgence. Due
to high pathogenicity and minimal human toxicity, entomopathogenic fungi may be a viable option
over traditional techniques for managing stored grain insect pests and can be treated as a novel solution
for protecting the stored grains. Under consideration of these facts, the goal of the current study was
to examine how three distinct entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae,
and Lecanicillium lecanii) affected wheat grain insects (Sitophilus oryzae, Rizopertha dominica, and
Tribolium castaneum) that were kept in storage.